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Putnam's Ex-Chief to Collect
$78 Million as He Severs Ties

By

John Hechinger Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated June 11, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

BOSTON -- Lawrence J. Lasser, the ousted chief executive of Putnam Investments, will get $78 million from parent company Marsh & McLennan Cos. to resolve a dispute in which Putnam challenged his severance pact, claiming he was responsible for lapses that led to civil charges against the firm last fall in the mutual-fund scandals.

The settlement is likely to focus more attention on rich compensation at Putnam and elsewhere in the $7.5 trillion U.S. mutual-fund industry, at a time when regulators such as New York...